LATEST ISSUE

In this special retrofit issue we launch our new RetroFirst campaign championing reuse in the built environment. We also announce the winners of the AJ Retrofit Awards 2019 covering 18 different categories; as well as building studies of two retrofit projects: Orms’ conversion of council offices into a hotel in Camden, north London; and Flower Michelin Architects’ Shingle House renovation and extension of a seaside ...

Summit House and the adjacent Grade II-listed No 46 Worship Street in central London have been refurbished and extended

Working in collaboration with Low Carbon Workplace, the original 1980s building has been reclad and remodelled, with the addition of a two-storey steel-framed roof extension that is stacked to create roof terrace areas.

The new envelope of patinated copper forms part of a passive environmental strategy designed to minimise overheating on the upper levels, while the lower level shaded areas have a low emissivity coating to keep warmth inside.

Internally, the structure is expressed through the red-painted steel frame and exposed ceilings.

Architect’s view

The new envelope is designed to respond to the site’s orientation and the adjacent building’s massing, both in maximising environmental performance and expression of scale. The patinated copper cladding makes the building a distinctive contemporary warehouse while staying in keeping with the surrounding red brick buildings. The result is a building that performs as well as an equivalent new building.

The AJ supports the architecture industry on a daily basiswith in-depth news analysis, insight into issues that are affecting the industry, comprehensive building studies with technical details and drawings, client profiles, competition updates as well as letting you know who’s won what and why.